How Thailand makes money

Posted Sunday, May 27, 2007, 4:38 PM by Lonely Planet

It's midnight on Ko Chang's Sai Khao beach, and I'm close to starving. I haven't eaten anything since morning because as usual my day has whizzed by in a flurry of guidebook-writer hustle and hum: I've inspected the island's ricketiest bungalows at lightening speed. I've chased after pickup-truck taxis in the boiling midday heat.

Yet none of this concerns me now, because the low rumblings of my stomach are silencing even my deepest thoughts. But late-night Ko Chang, as it happens, isn't exactly a foodie's paradise. My options at this hour seem to be limited to a bag of banana chips or a Cadbury chocolate bar from the roadside 7-11.

Instead, I settle on a dinner of Beer Chang and bottled water.




And then seemingly out of nowhere, I stumble upon a guy selling hot dogs and hamburgers-real, American-style hamburgers - from the back of a pickup truck. This is something I have never seen before in Thailand. The truck's bed is also its kitchen, which consists of a propane tank, a hot plate and a plastic cooler. In the middle of it all sits the smiling Thai proprietor. He tells me the majority of his fast food is purchased well after midnight, when tourists emerge en masse from the island's beach bars.

And yet the hamburger truck really shouldn't have surprised me. Because like nearly every other developing nation on earth, Thailand is home to a massive population of especially creative small business wizards. Here's a brief list of the many unique entrepreneurs I've discovered during my two months in Thailand:

The Breezy Barber: This 63-year-old barber had been cutting hair for more than 20 years when his landlord refused to renew his shop's lease. Instead of retiring, the barber modified the back of his pickup truck into a mobile salon.

D.I.Y. Cinemas: Especially popular in the northern town of Pai, these unique businesses duplicate the experience of watching a movie at home. After choosing a DVD, customers retire to a 'private room' outfitted with a couch and a TV set.



Volkswagen Microbus Pubs: Visit any backpacker ghetto in Thailand, and you're bound to come across one of these - a VW bus that's been chopped up and reconfigured into a beer-and-cocktail bar. During my latest visit, I even discovered a few that eschewed the alcohol and instead sold fruit smoothies and fair-trade coffee.


- Dan Eldridge

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